Last year I reported here, based on a conversation at a STAR Team meeting, that the city was uninterested in painting more bicycle lanes. With the creation of new lanes on Division and Benton and the discussion at night’s STAR Team meeting, it has became clear to me that painting more bicycle lanes is in [...]
Keri Caffrey, of Commute Orlando and CyclingSavvy, has updated her excellent video Bicycling in Traffic is a Dance You Must Lead. Something to note: You are NOT watching “hardened” cyclists or “road warriors” or “adrenaline junkies” who brave the dangers of traffic. Bicycling in traffic is safe (compared to a lot of other dangerous things [...]
In my quest to discover just how much nonsense Carbon Trace readers will put up with, here’s another scintillating bicycling video — 37 minutes of driving 4-lane arterials in the Springfield suburbs. Does it get any better than that? I think not. Roads traveled: National, Sunshine, Campbell, and Sunset. My thanks to Christopher McNeese of A&B Cycles [...]
What ought to be the order of courtesy in traffic between car drivers and bicycle drivers? I think the best way to approach this question is to check what the law and common understandings of the traffic system call for. First among these is the order of right-of-way (304.351. 1. Right of Way). In general, the [...]
Please be careful what you ask for, that is. There’s a movement afoot at the Bicycle Friendly Springfield group on Facebook to have Springfield bicyclists send postcards to the mayor requesting more bicycle friendliness in Springfield. The post cards are available at local bicycle shops. Fill it out. Send it in. Be heard. Good idea! [...]
Wow. Newsy day transportation-wise in Springfield. Check it out. Grand St. at MSU Eyed for Improvement: Never was their a better stretch of road needing some attention to make the lives of pedestrians and non-motorized traffic better. A preliminary design shows the project would cost around $2 million to pay for upgrades of traffic lights at both [...]
The first CyclingSavvy class in Springfield was a success. I define success this way: We had students! We had five! Two were members of my family. One other was known to me. And two signed up after having seen the announcement on Facebook. It’s tough to fill bicycling classes for a number of reasons. So I’m good [...]
Not long ago I published photos, video, and explanatory graphics of the new bicycle lane on Benton between Drury University and Commercial Street. Please see: New Bicycle Lane on Benton Ave. Observations on Benton Ave. Graphics Explain Benton Situation Now it’s time to see what a door-zone crash looks like. What you are about to see is not an [...]
My thanks to the News-Leader for highlighting alternative transportation in its editorial today. I question the assumption that riding on the streets of Springfield is not safe or that bicycle lanes are safe. But, all in all, the need for transportation options is a conversation Springfield needs to have, and I’m happy to see the News-Leader taking [...]
Screw ‘em! I mean, really … other people? They’re just objects in the road. Something to get around. And if they piss you off, then scare them or put them in danger. Here’s what a road bully pulled on me this morning. He didn’t realize, however, that wasn’t scared of him. (Click for larger image) [...]
The new bicycle facilities on Division St. between Broadway and Benton are not quite complete, but I decided to make a video today because the weather was just soooooo nice You will see the 5-lane section east of Campbell that Traffic Engineer David Hutchison said (in an e-mail message) will have “shared lanes.” I assume [...]
I spent some time observing a 3-block stretch of bicycle lane in Seattle during my trip. I’m still not sure what to think about what I saw. First, take a look at the pictures. OK, so it’s a door-zone lane along 2nd Ave., a 1-way street heading south. I observed the conditions between Pike and [...]
My thanks to Keri Caffrey, of Commute Orlando and CyclingSavvy, for creating these graphics to help explain the situation on Benton Ave. Click to enlarge. Graphic #1: Current situation on Benton Ave. Graphic #2: Benton Ave. with sharrows. Also see this excellent series of graphics explaining Best Practice Bikeway Design for a 23 ft. Lane with Street [...]
A new bicycle lane has appeared on Benton Ave. from roughly Central St. to Commercial St. I say “appeared” because I had no idea this was coming. I’ve been operating under the impression that the city was uninterested in painting new lanes. Now, I have been busy this summer and traveling. I missed the last [...]
I’m late highlighting this interesting post — Fear mongers be gone! Riding a bike is safe. — by Dave Schlabowske: The point here is that it may sell papers, but fear mongering and casting blame are inappropriate responses to relatively rare tragedies when someone dies riding a bicycle, which is a generally safe activity and [...]
